Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


iEx  ICtbrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  hook 

Because  it  has  heen  said 
" Ever' thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  hook." 


A  PLEA  FOR  HOSPITALS. 


The  direct  object  of  this  pamphlet  is  to  demonstrate  the 
necessity  for  a  new  Hospital  in  the  city  of  New- York.  To 
show  the  inadequacy  of  the  present  modes  of  available  relief, 
when  compared  with  the  increasing  amount  of  sickness  among 
the  poor  of  the  city,  and  also,  to  show  by  comparative  sta- 
tistics of  other  cities,  both  European  and  American,  how  much 
we  are  wanting  in  those  provisions  of  relief  which  are  called 
for  by  the  necessities,  wants,  and  sufferings  of  the  sick  poor. 
In  whatever  point  of  view  we  look  at  the  subject,  whether  as 
Christians,  philanthropists,  or  in  the  strictest  sense  as  political 
economists,  the  necessity  of  more  Hospital  accommodation 
appears. 

In  all  the  calls  of  humanity,  in  distress,  whether  at  home  or 
abroad,  whether  caused  by  "  war,  pestilence  or  famine,"  the 
citizens  of  New-York  have  attained  an  honored  pre-eminence 
in  being  ever  ready,  and  ever  willing  to  furnish  the  means  of 
alleviating  such  sufferings  ;  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that 
the  want  which  is  now  urged,  has  only  to  be  known  and  un- 
derstood to  be  provided  for  in  the  most  liberal  manner. 

A  stranger  or  casual  observer,  in  viewing  those  noble  struc- 
tures,— noble  in  themselves  and  doubly  so  in  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  used, — the  New-York  Hospital  and  the  Bellevue 
Hospital,  in  passing  through  the  wards  and  noticing  the  extent 
of  accommodation  for  the  sick  and  suffering,  might  at  first 


suppose  the  city  abundantly  supplied  with  such  provisions. 
But  when  an  analytical  examination  of  these  institutions  and 
their  means  of  relief  is  made,  it  only  shows  by  the  invaluable 
ministrations  of  good  which  they  bestow  on  a  certain  portion 
of  the  suffering  poor,  the  great  want  of  more  relief  of  a  similar 
kind.  The  Bellevue  Hospital  is  devoted  entirely  to  the  sick 
paupers  of  the  city,  and  at  present,  although  having  in  constant 
use  550  beds,  is  inadequate  to  supply  the  wants  of  that  class 
in  society ;  and  the  last  report  of  the  Warden  strenuously 
urges,  from  various  considerations,  the  adding  of  another  story 
to  the  present  building,  in  order  to  meet  the  increase  in  its 
sole  beneficiaries,  the  pauper  population  of  the  city. 

The  New-York  Hospital  has  350  beds,  which  have  during 
the  past  year  been  occupied  by  3296  patients,  who  have  re- 
ceived the  benefits  of  the  institution. 

As  is  shown  by  the  last  report  of  the  Governors  of  this  Insti- 
tution, there  have  been  under  treatment — 

1245  Seamen, 
544  Pay  Patients, 
1507  Paupers. 

3296 

The  time  has  been  occupied  by  the  several  classes  of  pa- 
tients in  the  following  proportions  : — 

39x268o  per  cent.  Seamen, 
19T^7o       "       Pay  Patients, 
41-A/V       "  Paupers. 
It  will  be  seen  that  a  large  portion  of  the  beneficiaries  of 
this  Institution  have  been  Seamen,  whose  expenses  are  paid  by 
the  United  States  Government,  from  the  avails  of  the  Hospital 
tax,  which  is  gathered  from  Seamen  and  Shipmasters  ;  thus 
leaving  for  the  general  purposes  of  the  Hospital  only  about 
sixty  per  cent.,  and  it  is  a  fact  well  known  to  every  physician, 
and  many  of  our  citizens,  that  during  the  past  year  many 
proper  Hospital  applicants  have  been  reluctantly  turned  away 
for  lack   of  suitable  accommodation,  and  many  more  are 
deterred  from  making  application  by  the  knowledge  of  this 


3 


fact.  Another  fact  worthy  of  notice  is  embodied  in  the  fol- 
lowing quotation  from  the  Report  of  the  Governors.  "  Among 
the  deaths  are  included  122  casualties,  and  other  cases  of 
sudden  death  falling  under  the  charge  of  the  Coroner,  which 
terminated  fatally  soon  after  being  brought  to  the  Hospital, 
being  6  more  than  in  the  last,  and  more  than  double  the  number 
of  such  cases  that  have  occurred  in  any  other  preceding  year. 
Such  cases  requiring  immediate  medical  or  surgical  aid  for 
any  hope  of  relief,  are  received  without  reference  to  the  pro- 
bability of  cure  ;  otherwise  no  patients  are  received  whose  cases 
do  not  appear  to  the  Physicians  or  Surgeons,  to  admit  some  pro- 
bability of  cure,  or  of  substantial  though  temporary  relief." 
St.  Vincent's  Hospital  contains  40  beds. 
Thus  the  inadequateness  of  these,  the  sole  provisions,  to 
meet  the  wants  of  a  city  with  a  population  of  more  than  half 
a  million,  and,  including  adjacent  cities,  nearly  three-quarters 
of  a  million,  is  strikingly  manifest,  and  the  surprise  and  wonder 
is  that  the  evil  has  not  long  before  this  been  remedied. 

In  a  startling  manner,  simply  by  reference  to  Hospital  Sta- 
tistics taken  from  other  cities,  may  our  own  wants  be  shown. 

In  New  Orleans  they  have  three  large  Hospitals ;  Charity 
Hospital,  Maison  de  Sante,  and  the  Marine  Hospital. 

The  Charity  Hospital  was  built  at  an  expense  of  $150,000, 
and  is  capable  of  accommodating  500  inmates.  It  is  under 
the  charge  of  the  ablest  Medical  Faculty  in  the  city,  and  has 
the  assistance  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  as  nurses  to  the  sick, 
who  cannot  be  excelled  in  kindness  and  careful  attention.  It 
has  in  the  course  of  a  single  year,  when  the  yellow  fever  was 
not  epidemic  and  there  was  no  cholera,  admitted  nearly  6000 
patients.  The  onty  passport  required  for  admission  to  the 
best  attendance  is  sickness  or  an  injury. 

The  Maison  de  Sante  was  completed  and  opened  in  the 
year  1839.  It  will  accommodate  200  patients,  and  is  designed 
chiefly  for  strangers  and  others  who  are  able  to  meet  the 
actual  expenses  of  their  sickness. 

The  Marine  Hospital  was  built  at  an  expense  of  $130,000 
and  will  accommodate  about  300  patients.    As  its  name  indi- 


4 


cates,  it  is  intended  exclusively  for  sailors ;  but  being  ample 
in  its  accommodations,  it  precludes  any  necessity,  as  with  us, 
for  that  class  filling  the  beds  and  wards  of  the  other  public 
Hospitals. 

In  addition  to  these,  there  are  several  private  Hospitals, 
which,  however,  do  not  properly  come  under  our  notice. 

Thus  it  appears  that  New  Orleans,  with  about  one-third  the 
population  of  New-York,  is  vastly  its  superior  in  Hospital  ac- 
commodations, it  having,  exclusive  of  the  United  States  Ma- 
rine Hospital,  which  corresponds  to  the  one  on  Staten  Island, 
about  the  same  available  number  of  beds  ; — thus  leaving  the 
number  of  Hospital  beds,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  at 
about  three  to  one  in  favor  of  New  Orleans. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  Hospital  accommodations  are  no  better 
than  our  own  ;  but  an  effort  is  now  being  made,  with  every 
prospect  of  success,  through  the  liberality  of  some  of  its 
wealthy  citizens,  to  build  a  new  and  large  Charity  Hospital 
in  that  city,  which  will  make  the  proportion  largely  against  us 
as  compared  with  their  population. 

In  Boston  they  have  the  South  Boston  Hospital,  with  about 
400  beds,  which  corresponds  to  the  Bellevue  in  this  city,  being 
a  part  of  the  Alms  House  department,  and  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital,  which  has  about  250  charity  beds,  thus  giving 
them  much  better  Hospital  accommodation,  in  proportion  to 
their  need  and  their  population,  than  New- York.  The  citizens 
of  Boston  have  evinced  their  interest  in  this  subject,  and  shown 
their  accustomed  liberality  by  donations  and  bequests  to  the 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  amounting  to  more  than  one 
million  of  dollars.  There  are  also  a  large  number  of  annual 
donors,  who  give  one  hundred  dollars  each  to  sustain  free 
beds.  In  addition,  for  a  permanent  source  of  revenue,  there 
are  four  chartered  Life  Insurance  Companies,  (the  Massa- 
chusetts Hospital  Life  Insurance  Company,  New  England 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  the  State  Mutual  Life  Insu- 
rance Company,  and  the  Bowditch  Mutual  Life  Assurance 
Company,  and  the  Merrimac  Manufacturing  Company,)  which 
are  obliged,  by  the  terms  of  their  charters,  to  pay  over  to  the 


5 


Trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  one-third  of 
their  net  profits. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  in  point  of  public  and  private 
munificence  connected  with  their  Hospital,  and  the  Hospital 
accommodations  themselves,  Boston  stands  far  ahead  of  any 
Northern  city,  and  is  very  far  in  advance  of  New-York. 

The  citizens  of  Albany,  we  are  informed,  have  subscribed 
the  sum  of  forty-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  establishment  of 
a  Charity  Hospital. 

"Let  us  not,  however,  confine  our  observations  to  the  com- 
paring of  ourselves  with  ourselves.  A  larger  view  may,  per- 
haps, stir  us  up  to  a  holy  emulation  in  good  works.  Within 
the  last  few  months,  a  volume  of  nearly  500  closely  printed 
octavo  pages  has  issued  from  the  press,  called  (  The  Charities 
of  London,'  containing  a  mere  enumeration  of  the  titles  of  the 
various  institutions  of  that  metropolis,  which  may  legitimately 
be  included  under  the  name  of  charities,  with  such  a  succinct 
account  of  the  design  of  each,  and  enumeration  of  its  means  of 
support  and  mode  of  management,  as  shall  furnish  aid  to  those 
who  need  information  where  and  how  to  seek  assistance. 
The  total  number  of  such  institutions  exceeds  1300,  while  be- 
tween 60  and  70  are  specially  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  sick. 
There  are  no  less  than  twelve  general  hospitals,  many  others 
being  devoted  to  special  diseases,  as  the  Fever  Hospital,  those 
for  Consumptives,  and  for  Diseases  of  the  Eye,  &c,  Sec.11  In 
comparing  the  relative  amount  of  provision  made  for  the  sick 
poor  in  London  and  in  New- York,  we  ought  to  leave  out  of  the 
account  Bellevue  Hospital,  which  is  more  than  counterbalanced 
in  London  by  the  provision  made  by  the  poor  laws  for  the 
treatment  of  the  sick  pauper,  either  at  his  own  house,  by 
medical  officers  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  or 
at  the  Union  Workhouses,  supported  by  the  parish  rates. 

We  have  in  New-York,  then,  the  New-York  Hospital,  with 
250  beds  (excluding  the  beds  appropriated  to  seamen,  paid 
for  by  the  Q.  S.  Government  out  of  the  avails  of  the  Hospital 


6 


money),  and  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  with  40  beds,  to  compare 
with  the  following  Hospitals  of  London.* 

St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  founded  in  1102,  A.  D.,  has 
accommodations  in  its  wards  for  5S0  patients,  who  are  all  sup- 
ported by  the  funds  of  the  Institution,  and  in  the  year  1848 
received  5826  in-patients,  19,149  out-patients,  and  46,598 
casualties.  It  was  originally  founded  by  the  minstrel  of  Henry 
L,  and  has  an  average  income  of  .£32,000  per  annum. 

St.  Thomas's  Hospital  was  founded  in  1551,  and  has  accom- 
modations for  428  beds.  During  the  year  1849,  59,710  per- 
sons partook  of  its  benefits,  nearly  5000  of  whom  were  in- 
patients.   It  has  an  income  of  £25,000. 

Westminster  Hospital  was  founded  in  1719.  It  has  174 
beds,  which  are  always  full,  and  during  the  year  1849  received 
into  its  wards  1S91  patients,  and  dispensed  advice  and  medi- 
cine to  13,479  at  their  own  houses.  It  is  supported  by  volun- 
tary contributions,  and  has  an  income  of  only  £4,000  per 
annum. 

Guy's  Hospital  was  founded  at  the  sole  cost  and  charges 
of  Thomas  Guy,  Esq.,  in  the  year  1724.  He  expended 
.£18,000  on  the  building  during  his  life,  and  endowed  it  with 
£219,000.  A  gentleman  named  Hunt,  in  the  year  1829, 
added  £200,000  to  this  endowment,  so  that  its  annual  income 
varies  from  £25,000  to  £30,000.  It  contains  5S0  beds,  and 
has  an  average  of  500  in-patients  constantly  in  its  wards. 
The  entire  annual  average  of  patients  reaches  50,000. 

St.  George's  Hospital  was  instituted  in  1733,  and  is  chiefly 
dependent  on  annual  contributions,  and  is  supported  at  an  ex- 
pense of  about  £10,000  per  annum.  It  has  over  300  beds, 
and  during  the  past  year  received  into  its  wards  3643  patients, 
half  of  whom  were  from  accidents. 

The  London  Hospital  was  instituted  in  1740,  and  receives 
from  320  to  340  patients  into  its  beds.  In  the  year  1849  the 
total  number  of  in-patients  was  41S5,  and  out-patients  28,614. 

*  Tins  abstract  of  the  London  Charities  and  the  passages  quoted  on  the  previous 
page,  are  taken  from  an  eloqnent  "  Appeal  on  behalf  of  the  Sick,''  in  Philadelphia, 
understood  to  have  been  written  by  Dr.  Caspar  Morris. 


7 


It  has  an  income  of  .£13,000  per  annum,  only  .£2000  of  which 
is  from  annual  contributions. 

Middlesex  Hospital  was  established  about  1745,  and  con- 
tains 285  beds.  It  has  an  income  of  about  .£10,000,  above 
.£3000  of  which  is  from  annual  subscribers.  The  annual  aver- 
age number  of  in-patients  during  the  past  five  years  has  been 
2206,  and  out-patients  9316. 

Charing  Cross  Hospital  was  founded  in  1818.  It  has  about 
120  beds,  into  which  during  the  past  year  1116  patients  have 
been  received.  This  institution  is  dependent  on  annual  con- 
tributions, which  do  not  exceed  ,£2500. 

King's  College  Hospital  was  founded  in  1833,  and  has  120 
beds,  into  which,  during  the  past  year,  it  has  received  1634 
patients,  and  relieved  18,000  cases  at  their  own  dwellings. 
It  has  an  annual  income  of  .£5000,  chiefly  from  present  con- 
tributions. 

Marylebone  and  Paddington  Hospital  has  been  opened  dur- 
ing the  past  year  with  150  beds.  The  amount  contributed  to 
the  present  time  is  only  sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of  the  build- 
ing, which  has  been  .£30,000. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  these  institutions  have  all 
been  originated  by  private  charity,  and  endowed  or  supported 
by  'private  benevolence,  with  it  is  believed  only  one  exception. 
Nor  was  it  the  charity  of  a  distant  age.  The  stream  has  va- 
ried in  its  fulness,  but  has  never  ceased  to  flow,  furnishing, 
at  the  present  time,  permanent  provision  for  the  support  in  its 
Hospitals  of  no  less  than  3192  beds.  While  in  our  own  city, 
in  St.  Vincents  and  the  New- York  Hospital  (excluding  those 
used  by  seamen  at  Government  expense)  only  about  250  beds, 
and  a  large  portion  of  these,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  report  of 
the  Governors,  are  put  down  as  paupers.  As  these  London 
Hospitals  are  exclusive  of  the  provisions  made  for  sick  pau- 
pers, the  Bellevue  Hospital,  which  is  in  reality  but  the  sick 
ward  of  the  Alms  House,  is  not  included  in  the  comparative 
statistics  of  charity  beds.  Thus  it  appears  that  London,  with 
a  population  of  about  two  millions,  has  nearly  3200  charity 
beds,  which  are  supported  by  private  munificence  (indepen- 


s 


dent  of  public  provision  for  sick  paupers),  while  New-York,  with 
a  population  of  half  a  million,  has  but  250  charity  beds,  and 
these  nearly  one  half  supported  by  a  State  Annuity  and  "  pay 
patients."  The  proportion  of  population  is  as  one  to  four,  of 
Hospital  accommodation,  about  one  to  thirteen. 

At  first  sight  it  may  appear  that  this  want  of  Hospitals  is 
measurably  supplied  b}^  those  noble  institutions,  the  Dispen- 
saries in  this  chy.  But  the  same  duties  are  performed  by  the 
London  Hospitals  as  by  the  Dispensaries  here  ;  and  even  to  a 
very  much  greater  extent.  Thus,  during  the  past  year,  St. 
Bartholomew's  Hospital  has  supplied  medicine  and  attendance 

for  65,747  out  patients. 


St.  Thomas's  Hospital, 

54,000 

Westminster  Hospital, 

13,479 

Guy's  Hospital. 

45,000 

London  Hospital, 

28,000 

Middlesex  Hospital, 

9,316 

King's  College  Hospital, 

19,383 

University  College  Hospital, 

18,000 

Total 

249,925 

During  the  same  time  the  Northern  Dispensary  in  this  city 
has  supplied  medicine  and  attendance  for  20,680. 
The  New-York  Dispensary,  40,835. 
The  Eastern  Dispensary, 

But  more  than  with  any  other  city  do  we  suffer  by  a  com- 
parison with  Paris.  The  whole  number  of  Hospitals  under 
the  care  and  direction  of  the  Council  General  of  Hospitals  are 
thirty-six.  There  are  nine  General  Hospitals  destined  for  the 
reception  of  all  classes,  and  both  sexes  above  fifteen  years  of 
age.    These  contain  35S0  beds. 

The  Special  Hospitals  are  for  accommodating  patients  la- 
boring under  diseases  which  are  of  sufficiently  frequent  occur- 
rence to  authorize  the  establishment  of  a  special  institution  for 
their  treatment,  and  for  such  as  by  their  contagious  nature 
should  be  kept  separate  and  apart  from  others.  There  are  ten 
of  this  description,  five  of  them  containing  2410  beds,  for  dis- 


9 


cases  which  are  received  in  our  General  Hospitals.  These 
nine  General,  and  five  Special  Hospitals,  are  Charity  Hospi- 
tals in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word.  In  addition,  there  are 
twelve  General  Alms  Houses  (Hospices)  established  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  city,  for  the  reception  of  old,  indigent  and  in- 
curable persons  of  both  sexes,  and  for  orphans  and  foundlings, 
which  are  provided  with  infirmaries,  to  which  surgeons  and 
physicians  belonging  to  the  General  Hospital  service  are  at- 
tached.   The  following  are  the  General  Hospitals : 


Hotel  Dieu,         containing  800  beds. 

Hotel  Dieu  Annexe,      "  100 

La  Charite,  "  530 

La  Pitie,  "  600 

Hopital  des  Cliniques,  "  150 

Hopital  Beaujon,  "  500 

Hopital  Necker,  "  500 

St.  Antoine,  "  300 

Hopital  Cochin,  "  100 


3,580 

The  Special  Hospitals  are  the 

Hopital  St.  Louis,          containing  800  beds. 

Hopital  Du  Midi,                  "  450 

Hopital  Lourcine,                "  200 

Hopital  des Enfans  Malades,  "  560 

Hopital  de  la  Maternite,        "  400 

Total,  2,410 


Comparing  New-York  with  Paris,  the  proportion  of  popula- 
tion is  as  one  to  two  and  five-tenths.  Hospital  accommodation 
one  to  twenty-four.  There  is  also  a  Bureau  de  Bienfaisance, 
or  Charity  Office,  under  the  management  and  direction  of  the 
Council  General  of  the  Hospital,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
and  assisting  with  medical  advice,  medicines,  &c,  all  who  are 

Note. — The  information  in  regard  to  the  Hospitals  of  Paris  is  drawn  from  the 
work  of  Dr.  F.  Campbell  Stewart,  (the  accomplished  physician  to  the  Marine  Hospi- 
tal on  Staten  Island)  on  the  u  Hospitals  and  Surgeons  of  Paris." 


10 


unable  to  leave  their  houses  or  unwilling  to  enter  the  Hospitals. 
The  whole  number  of  families  who  received  assistance  from 
this  source  during  1840  was  more  than  36,000,  comprising  up- 
wards of  80,000  persons,  distributed  in  the  following  manner  r 
No.  of  families,  36,057;  men,  18,656  ;  women,  31,697  ;  boys, 
17,723  ;  girls,  16,823  ;  total,  84,S99. 

The  cost  of  the  relief  afforded  is  defrayed  out  of  the  Hos- 
pital fund. 

The  revenues  of  these  immense  Hospitals  and  Charities  are 
derived  from  various   sources.     A  very  large  allowance 
(5,200,000  francs)  is  made  to  them  by  the  chy.    The  depart- 
ment of  the  Seine,  which  embraces  Paris  and  its  environs, 
grants  them  400,000  francs  annually.    All  the  theatres  and 
places  of  public  amusement  are  obliged  to  pay  in  10  per  cent,  of 
their  gross  receipts  to  the  Hospital  fund.    All  the  pawnbroking 
in  Paris  is  conducted  by  agents  of  the  Hospital  administration, 
and  the  profits  derived  from  this  source  go  to  the  General  Hos- 
pital fund.    Articles  pledged  may  be  redeemed  at  any  time 
within  twelve  months,  on  the  payment  of  three-quarters  per 
cent,  a  month  on  the  amount  advanced  :  if  not  called  for  by 
the  expiration  of  the  year,  they  are  disposed  of  at  public  auc- 
tion, and  the  surplus  over  the  amount  advanced  is  retained, 
during  three  years,  to  the  credit  of  the  depositor ;  if  not  with- 
drawn prior  to  the  expiration  of  this  term,  the  surplus  is  passed 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Hospitals.    Occasionally  very  large 
sums  are  derived  from  this  source.    The  depositors  receive 
pretty  nearly  the  value  of  what  they  deposit  (on  gold  and 
silver  articles  three-fourths,  and  on  every  thing  else  two-thirds 
of  the  value).    The  advances  made  on  articles  brought  by 
poor  people  to  be  pawned,  are  not  left  in  the  hands  of  rapa- 
cious individuals,  as  is  the  case  elsewhere.    When  unable  to 
redeem  what  they  have  been  obliged  to  part  with,  the  poor 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  whatever  advanta  es 
may  accrue  from  the  sale  of  their  goods  are  indirectly  received 
back  by  them,  in  going  to  the  support  of  institutions,  to  which 
they  have  always  access  in  sickness,  or  when  overtaken  by 
infirmities. 


11 


In  addition  the  Hospitals  receive  annually  large  sums  in  do- 
nations and  legacies. 

All  the  public  Hospitals  in  Paris  are  so  admirably  conducted, 
and  so  abundantly  supplied  with  every  convenience  and  com- 
fort for  the  sick,  that  respectable  individuals  from  the  middle 
classes  of  society  are  frequently  induced  to  resort  to  them  in 
cases  of  sickness,  both  with  a  view  to  economy,  and  for  the 
advantage  of  being  well  and  properly  attended  during  the 
continuance  of  their  illness.  No  stigma  whatever  attaches  to 
those  who  seek  Hospital  relief ;  hence  all  classes  of  citizens 
who  would  not  be  properly  attended  at  home,  may  with  per- 
fect propriety  do  so,  and  they  are  often  induced  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  rare  advantages  which  they  possess,  in  having 
access  to  such  noble  and  liberally  provided  institutions. 

The  manner  in  which  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
city  live,  in  a  state  of  almost  extreme  poverty,  their  sole  de- 
pendence being  the  pittance  they  are  enabled  to  earn  from 
day  to  day,  furnishes  a  strong  and  overwhelming  argument 
for  more  public  provision  for  sickness  and  disease.  This  class, 
if  in  health,  are  barely  able  to  eke  out  a  half-starved  existence, 
and  when  sickness  comes,  are  without  any  of  the  absolute 
necessities  of  life.  Thanks  to  the  philanthropic  exertions  of 
Dr.  James  Stewart,  we  are  enabled  to  present  some  facts  in  re- 
lation to  the  lowest  class  of  the  poor  outside  of  the  Alms  House, 
the  cellar  population  of  the  city.  We  are  startled  by  the  fact 
that  we  have  in  our  midst  a  "  Subterranean  City,  from  whose 
damp  and  filthy  portals  ooze  up  the  foul  and  poisonous  miasma 
which  continually  pollutes  the  air,  and  sows  the  seeds  of  dis- 
ease broadcast  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  city." 
From  investigations  made  by  the  Chief  of  Police,  it  is 
shown  by  actual  census  that  nearly  twenty  thousand  human 
beings  live,  eat  and  drink  in  cellars,  and  that  the  rate  of  dis- 
ea  and  mortality  among  this  class  is  from  12  to  15  per  cent, 
higher  than  among  the  poorest  class  living  above  ground. 
The  wants  of  their  condition  in  health  call  emphatically  upon 
th  philanthropic  for  relief,  and  when  disease,  and  the  worst 
of  diseases,  those  generated  by  the  noxious  vapors  of  their 


12 


subterranean  filth,  come  upon  them,  their  condition  is  truly 
pitiable.  We  quote  from  the  articles  published  in  the  Tribune 
during  last  summer  by  Dr.  James  Stewart  (with  his  permis- 
sion), some  account  of  these  "  Dens  of  Death." 

"  The  ceiling  is  often  so  low  that  a  tall  man  cannot  stand  up- 
right with  his  hat  on  ;  the  main  room  has  but  one  window,  and 
that  is  often  under  a  grate,  and  in  such  a  position  that  it  cannot 
be  opened,  thus  leaving  the  door  as  the  only  place  where  fresh 
air  can  enter.  In  rainy  and  cold  weather,  and  at  night,  the 
door  must  be  closed,  and  then  the  half  dozen  victims  inclosed 
must  breathe  over  and  over  again  the  poisonous  air,  until  they 
are  themselves  poisoned.  The  bedrooms  are  still  worse 
places.  These  bedrooms  are  always  in  the  rear,  and  very  few 
of  them  have  any  opening  except  into  the  main  room  ;  with- 
out air,  without  light,  filled  with  damp  vapor  from  the  mil- 
dewed walls,  and  with  vermin  in  ratio  to  the  dirtiness  of  the 
inhabitants,  they  are  the  most  repulsive  holes  that  ever  a  hu- 
man being  was  forced  to  sleep  in. 

"  Imperfect  drainage  is  often  the  cause  of  rilling  these  places, 
after  a  hard  rain,  with  water,  which  lies  under  the  floor  until 
slow  evaporation  and  absorption  dissipate  it.  Among  the 
sweet  savors  of  these  cellars  may  be  mentioned  the  leakage 
of  gas,  the  continued  exhalations  of  the  gutters,  remnants  of 
animal  matter  decaying  in  the  streets,  &c. 

"  We  know  that  in  many  of  the  dirtier  streets  the  stench  is 
always  revolting  to  the  wayfarer,  who  is  accustomed  to  such 
localities,  yet  thousands  of  people  dwell  with  their  noses  con- 
stantly at  the  level  of  the  fetid  gutter,  and  draw  in  at  every 
breath  a  dose  that  would  suffocate  a  less  fastidious  person. 

"  Around  the  doors  of  many  cellars  you  may  see  at  any  time 
when  the  weather  is  not  too  cold,  swarms  of  children,  whose 
appearance  is  the  best  argument  that  can  be  found  in  favor  of 
public  wash  houses  ;  covered  with  rags,  encased  in  a  coat  of 
dirt,  that  from  long  hardening  has  become  a  sort  of  water  and 
fire-proof  paint,  their  hair  matted  into  one  mass  with  grease 
and  dust,  their  limbs  distorted  by  disease  or  bruised  and  dis- 
figured by  accident,  constantly  in  contact  with  the  more  vicious 


13 


of  the  street  roaming  vagabonds  of  a  larger  growth,  utterly- 
ignorant  of  such  a  place  as  school,  perfectly  oblivious  of  the 
use  of  the  alphabet,  they  grow  up  in  ignorance  and  wretched- 
ness to  a  future  of  vice  and  misery. 

***** 

"  The  Boarding  and  Lodging  Cellars  are  the  last  we  shall 
mention.  In  several  of  these  there  are  three  classes  of  boarders 
taken  ;  the  first  class  pay  37^  cents  per  week  for  board  and 
lodging,  having  straw  (loose  upon  the  floor)  to  sleep  upon,  and 
being  entitled  to  the  first  table  :  the  second  class  pay  1S£  cents 
per  week,  sleep  on  the  bare  floor  and  eat  at  the  second  table  : 
the  third  class  pay  nine  cents  per  week,  are  turned  out  when 
there  is  a  lack  of  lodging  room,  and  eat  at  the  third  and  last 
table.  These  cellars  are  generally  bare  of  furniture  except 
one  or  two  benches  and  a  large  table.  The  marketing  is  done 
by  the  children,  who  are  sent  out  to  beg  cold  victuals,  except 
in  some  instances  where  there  are  too  many  boarders  to  risk 
such  a  hazardous  source  of  supply,  and  then  the  keeper  of  the 
cellar  makes  a  special  contract  with  three  or  four  professional 
beggar  women,  who  sell  the  product  of  their  appeals  in  behalf 
of  starving  children  and  sick  husbands,  for  a  mere  trifle. 
***** 

11  The  lodging  system  in  these  places  is,  to  spread  along  one 
side  of  the  room  a  layer  of  straw,  on  which  the  first  class 
boarders  stretch  themselves,  lying  generally  very  close  to- 
gether; the  next  tier,  on  the  bare  floor,  are  the  second  class, 
and  if  the  patronage  be  extensive,  the  whole  floor  outside  the 
straw  will  be  packed  with  these  persons  as  closely  as  it  is 
possible  to  make  human  beings  lie.  Should  this  class  fill  the 
room,  the  ninepenny  vagabonds  are  unceremoniously  thrust 
into  the  street,  regardless  of  rain  or  snow,  to  crawl  into  alleys 
and  under  door-steps  for  the  night.  Thus  packed,  the  room 
becomes  in  a  few  minutes  filled  with  nitrogen  and  carbonic  acid 
gas  sufficient  to  poison  a  regiment.  The  door  being  barred 
and  the  windows  closed,  there  is  not  the  slightest  chance  for 
fresh  air  to  get  in,  and  the  appearance  of  the  wretches  as  they 
issue  forth  in  the  morning,  shows  plainly  the  effect  of  their 
dreadful  confinement." 


14 


The  effect  of  this  kind  of  life  is  demonstrated  in  the  increased 
amount  of  sickness  and  mortality  in  the  city.  The  living  in 
ordinary  health  in  these  places  is  revolting  to  human  nature, 
and  much  more  must  be  the  case  when  the  fermentations  and 
emanations  from  the  filth  with  which  they  are  surrounded 
produce  their  legitimate  result,  disease.  Then  the  sick  and 
suffering  in  their  damp  and  noisome  cellars,  destitute  of  pro- 
per medical  assistance,  destitute  of  any  care,  radiating  conta- 
gion and  extending  disease  by  contact  with  those  about  them, 
linger  along  in  their  unrelieved  agony,  until  a  welcome  death 
ends  their  sufferings,  and  the  Potter's  Field  receives  new  ad- 
ditions to  its  crowded  graves. 

Statistics  show  a  terrible  mortality  among  the  children  who 
exist  in  this  unnatural  state,  their  feeble  constitutions  not 
enured  to  these  hardships.  In  the  year  1848  the  whole  num- 
ber of  deaths  from  diseases  was  14,199,  of  which  number 
6,847  were  children  under  five  years  of  age,  and  in  1849  the 
number  of  deaths  were  22,006,  of  which  the  number  of  chil- 
dren under  five  years  was  9,057. 

The  increase  of  mortality  in  the  city,  which  for  years  has 
been  steadily  going  on,  presents  in  another  view  the  great 
want  of  additional  provision  for  the  sick  poor. 

From  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  City  Inspector  the  follow- 
ing statistics  on  this  point  are  gathered.  1 
1835  the  population  was  270,689.    Deaths  6,608—1  to  40.94. 
1840         "  "       312,710.       "      7,868— 1  to  39.74. 

1845        "  "        371,220.       "      9,8S6— 1  to  37.55. 

1848  "  "       412,155.        "     14,199—1  to  29.03. 

1849  "  "        450,000.       "  22,006 
Less  epidemic  from  Cholera,  6,579 


15,427—1  to  29.81. 

lS50the  population  was  515,394.  Deaths  16,978—1  to  30.35. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  population  has  increased  within 
the  last  twenty  years  about  50  per  cent.,  and  mortality  in- 
creased proportionally  about  75  per  cent.,  while  to  meet  this 
great  increase  from  both  sources,  there  has  been  hardly  any 


15 


increase  of  public  accommodations  for  the  sick  poor  of  the 
city. 

It  is  hardly  deemed  necessary  to  undertake  an  elaborate 
statement  showing  the  utility  and  worth  of  Hospitals.  From 
the  fourth  century  to  the  present  time,  they  have  kept  pace 
with  and  been  the  proudest  monuments  of  civilization.  They 
stand  in  European  countries  crowned  with  the  blessings  of 
generation  after  generation,  as  each  in  their  turn  have  visited 
them  for  relief,  and  any  man  whose  heart  beats  with  sympathy 
for  the  woes  of  his  fellow  man,  will  place  these  unostentatious 
buildings  far  above  the  sumptuousness  of  palaces,  the  stateli- 
ness  of  temples,  or  any  monuments  of  ancient  grandeur  upon 
which  his  eye  may  rest.  A  Charity  Hospital  is  a  child,  a 
favorite  child  of  the  most  enlightened  Christian  philanthropy, 
its  only  end  and  aim  to  help  in  accomplishing  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal missions  of  the  Son  of  God  himself, — the  healing  of  the 
sick.  It  tends  to  a  decrease  of  mortality  in  removing  the  des- 
titute sick,  some  from  those  loathsome  pestilential  cellar  houses 
in  which  so  many  are  compelled  to  live  ;  others  from  places, 
which  when  in  health  they  are  enabled  to  make  comfortable, 
but  which  sickness  and  want  have  reduced  to  a  pallet  of  straw, 
to  a  place  where  all  the  comforts  of  kind  and  careful  nursing, 
all  the  skill  and  advantage  that  medicine  can  afford,  are  found, 
which  often  will  save  them  from  death. 

Who  can  calculate  the  amount  of  pain  and  anguish  which 
Hospital  attentions,  even  in  our  own  city,  have  assuaged,  and 
who  will  not  lend  a  helping  hand  when  increasing  misery  cries 
for  more  relief,  whether  it  comes  from  the  cheerless  home  of 
honest  poverty,  or  the  fetid  haunts  of  degradation  and  vice. 

The  establishment  of  a  Charity  Hospital  would  have  a  di- 
rect influence  in  diminishing  vice.  There  are  many  families 
in  the  city  who,  industrious  and  provident,  in  health  are  ena- 
bled to  support  themselves  by  honest  effort,  but  when  sickness 
comes  upon  them,  when  the  father,  the  mother,  or  the  child, 
are  struck  down  with  disease,  which  demands  the  untiring  at- 
tentions of  the  other  members  of  the  family,  they  are  prevented 
from  earning  their  daily  subsistence.    These  are  often  led  into 


16 


crime  to  gain  a  pittance  to  support  their  own,  and  the  lives  of 
their  sick  friends.  Hundreds  of  cases  can  be  adduced  in  our 
own  city,  where  lack  of  bread,  and  fuel,  and  clothing,  and 
money  to  pay  for  shelter,  and  a  place  to  send  their  sick  ones, 
have  led  women  to  prostitute  themselves  for  the  sake  of  pro- 
curing the  means  of  relief  for  the  bodily  sufferings  of  a  child 
or  a  parent ; — and  having  once  tasted  the  cup  of  infamy, 
though  with  an  aching  heart,  they  begin  the  woes  of  a  loath- 
some life,  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  into  pollution,  until  they 
end  by  swelling  the  moral  sewer  of  prostitution  and  iniquity, 
running  through  the  purlieus  of  the  city.  We  could  detail  the 
circumstances  in  cases  which  have  come  under  personal  ob- 
servation, of  those  who  have  valued  name  and  fame,  and 
wished  to  be  honest,  but  who  could  not  bear  the  groans  and 
anguish  of  sick  parents,  or  sick  children,  without  surrendering 
every  thing  to  bring  them  relief ; — but  they  would  be  too  revolt- 
ing, a  reality  of  misery  too  painful  to  contemplate. 

It  is  the  duty  of  those  whom  Providence  has  favored  to  at- 
tend to  the  wants  of  the  destitute.  The  poorest  class,  those 
without  any  means  of  support,  either  in  health  or  in  sickness, 
the  absolute  paupers  of  a  country,  are  always  provided  for  by 
Government,  and  the  burden  of  their  support  thrown  upon 
society  generally  by  means  of  involuntary  taxation. 

The  other  class  of  the  poor,  those  who  in  health  are  enabled 
to  maintain  themselves,  but  who  in  sickness  are  thrown  upon 
the  cold  charity  of  the  world,  friendless  and  unknown,  are  the 
ones  in  whose  behalf  we  mainly  urge  this  appeal.  There  are 
many  who  feel  that  sentiment  of  independence  and  self-respect 
which  shrinks  from  the  mortification  and  debasement  attendant 
upon  seeking  pauper  relief,  and  thereby  becoming  a  part  of 
our  city  pauperage.  These  are  the  persons  that  shrink  from 
an  application  to  the  Bellevue,  yet  gladly  avail  themselves  of 
the  privileges  of  the  New-York  Hospital ;  and  many  others 
would  avail  themselves  of  this  charity,  were  the  accommoda- 
tion at  all  commensurate  with  the  demand. 

Another  class  of  the  poor,  who  arc  denied  even  the  charity 
of  the  present  Hospital,  arc  those  alllicted  with  chronic  or 


17 


incurable  diseases.  Out  of  the  depth  of  this  wretchedness  a 
groan  ascends  to  our  ears,  which,  for  the  honor  of  our  city, 
for  the  honor  of  humanity,  calls  loudly  for  relief. 

Must  a  sufferer,  because  his  or  her  disease  is  incurable,  be 
debarred  the  scanty  Hospital  charity  that  is  allowed  others 
among  the  sick  poor?  Is  it  not  enough  for  him  that  death  has 
set  his  seal  upon  his  brow, — that  the  lamp  of  hope  has  given 
its  last  glimmer, — that  the  king  of  terrors  has  him  fast  fettered 
in  his  skeleton  gripe?  Is  not  all  this  enough,  without  having 
his  anguish  unassuaged,  his  imploring  calls  for  relief  unan- 
swered, when  pain  contracts  his  frame,  distorts  his  members, 
and  disease  is  feeding  on  his  vitals  ? 

This  is  a  question  we  desire  to  carry  home  to  the  common 
humanity  as  well  as  the  benevolence  of  mankind.  If,  within 
the  whole  range  of  objects  claiming  and  calling  for  the  charity 
of  our  citizens,  one  can  be  found  more  deserving  than  this,  we 
have  yet  to  learn  what  it  is. 

Let  then  the  citizens  of  New- York — world  renowned  for 
their  charities  and  liberality — take  heed  of  this  great  want  ex- 
isting in  our  midst,  and  let  it  not  go  unrelieved  ! 

There  is  a  higher  satisfaction  in  being  the  means  of  laying 
the  arm  of  relief  beneath  the  suffering  sick ;  in  prolonging 
human  existence  by  timely  aid  ;  in  meliorating  the  condition 
of  the  sick  poor,  by  taking  them  from  damp  and  miasmatic 
hovels  and  beds,  to  a  place  where  sickness  and  pain  and  sor- 
row may  be  relieved,  and  perchance  death  warded  ;  than  in 
the  narrow,  selfish  circle  which  contents  itself  with  gratifying 
the  caprices  of  vanity  or  pride,  and  accompanies  the  human 
race  only  in  their  aggrandizement  and  revelries.  From  the 
couch  of  the  sick,  from  the  bed  of  the  dying,  from  widows  and 
orphans,  amid  pain  and  anguish  and  groans  and  tears,  there 
will  go  up  to  the  widow's  and  orphan's  God,  prayers  and  bless- 
ings for  those  who  have  been  the  instruments  of  their  relief. 
From  voices  quivering  in  the  shades  of  death,  and  from  friends 
of  the  dying,  who  are  saved  from  pauperage  or  vice,  there  will 
be  breathed  forth  benisons  of  more  worth  than  the  world's  chap- 
lets  of  fame,  or  notes  of  approbation. 

2 


18 


The  want  of  increased  Hospital  accommodation  in  this  city 
is  not,  however,  confined  to  those  who  are  dependent  on 
charity.  It  is  also  demanded  for  domestic  servants,  where 
medical  attendance,  medicines,  and  the  best  of  nursing  can  be 
famished  at  a  sum  per  week  not  exceeding  the  ordinary  price 
of  board  for  this  class.  We  again  extract  from  the  "  Appeal" 
already  quoted  from  : — 

"  Domestic  servants  often  suffer  exceedingly  from  the  want 
of  suitable  accommodation  for  their  relief  in  times  of  sickness. 
While  some  families  make  a  point  of  retaining,  and  nursing 
them,  when  sick,  many,  with  the  best  wishes,  are  quite  una- 
ble to  do  so.  But  with  few  exceptions,  even  when  they  are 
kept  at  the  houses  of  their  employers,  their  hours  of  sickness 
are  much  less  comfortable  than  they  would  be  in  a  Hospital. 
Few  families  keep  more  than  are  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
performance  of  the  ordinary  work  of  the  household,  and  if  not 
so  closely  crowded  in  lodging  rooms  as  the  laboring  men,  the 
difference  is  but  slightly  in  their  favor.  When  one  is  incapa- 
citated for  duty,  the  share  of  labor  commonly  performed  by 
that  one  falls  upon  the  others,  who  are  thus  more  than  ordina- 
rily occupied  in  their  several  duties,  while  the  invalid  is  left  in 
the  loneliness  of  an  upper  room,  heated  in  summer  by  its  prox- 
imity to  the  roof,  and  suffering  in  the  winter  from  the  want  of 
any  means  of  warming  it.  An  occasional  visit  from  the  mis- 
tress of  the  house  is  all  the  assistance  she  can  give  ;  and  ser- 
vices reluctantly  performed  by  those  whose  time  and  strength 
are  already  exhausted  by  duties  made  more  onerous  than  usual 
by  the  necessity  for  the  discharge  of  those  of  the  sick,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  own,  are  all  the  attention  received  by  the  sufferer. 
If,  as  is  very  often  the  case,  the  consciousness  of  this  induce 
the  poor  girl  to  seek  for  affectionate  sympathy  in  the  family  of 
some  parent  or  relative,  or  to  procure  attention  in  the  house  of 
some  friend,  the  privilege  is  too  often  purchased  at  a  sacrifice, 
which  none  but  those  who  have  witnessed  it  can  estimate.  In 
some  close  court,  or  some  narrow  street  at  best,  every  room 
and  bed  already  occupied,  the  sick  friend  or  child  is  received 
with  a  hearty  welcome  it  is  true;  but  it  is  a  welcome  which 


19 


cannot  conceal  the  inconvenience  to  which  it  subjects  the  bene- 
factor. The  necessaries  of  life  procured  with  difficulty  by 
constant  toil,  what  can  be  spared  to  purchase  the  medicine 
and  more  expensive  articles  of  diet  appropriate  for  the  sick  ! 
Week  after  week,  perhaps  month  after  month,  this  discomfort 
is  endured,  the  recovery  of  the  sick  retarded,  and  the  well 
subjected  to  exposure,  but  too  likely  to  terminate  in  additional 
sickness.  How  great  would  be  the  relief  to  sick  and  well 
alike,  could  the  wards  of  a  well  ventilated  Hospital,  and  the 
care  of  nurses  devoted  to  the  attendance  upon  the  sick,  as  their 
only  duty,  be  substituted  for  these  slender  accommodations. 

Let  it  no  longer  be  the  reproach  of  our  city  that  for  such 
none  have  cared. 

In  view  of  these  facts  and  considerations,  the  Trustees  of  the 
New- York  Medical  College  are  now  making  efforts  to  estab- 
lish a  new  Hospital  in  a  quarter  of  the  city  where  it  is  much 
needed,  and  they  confidently  appeal  to  their  fellow-citizens, 
for  their  liberal  aid  and  assistance.  They  feel  that  this  ap- 
peal will  not  be  unheeded,  when  the  wants  and  necessities  of 
the  sick  poor  are  known.  A  site  has  been  selected,  remote 
from  either  of  the  other  Hospitals,  on  which  it  is  proposed  to 
erect  a  plain,  economical,  but  commodious  and  well  ventilated 
Hospital,  which  shall  contain  three  hundred  beds.  In  addi- 
tion it  is  proposed  to  adopt  the  plan  of  the  London  Hospitals, 
by  furnishing  medical  advice,  attendance  and  medicine  for 
out-patients,  and  thus  supplying  the  want  of  Dispensary  relief 
in  a  large  territory,  east  of  Fourth  Avenue  and  north  of  Four- 
teenth Street,  now  destitute  of  such  relief.  A  very  large  and 
rapidly  increasing  population  inhabit  this  territory,  many  of 
whom  must  belong  to  that  class  who  are  destitute  of  the 
means  to  pay  a  physician  for  professional  services. 

A  petition  for  assistance  has  been  presented  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  this  State.  A  bill  has  passed  the  House  of  Assembly, 
granting  the  Trustees  the  power  to  establish  such  a  Hospital, 
and  appropriating  ten  thousand  dollars  for  their  aid.  It  now 
awaits  the  action  of  the  Senate.    The  Trustees  have  also  pe- 


» 


20 


titioned  the  Common  Council  of  this  city  for  the  grant  of  two 
lots  on  which  to  erect  the  Hospital. 

The  following  outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  is  respect- 
fully submitted  to  contributors  : — 

Every  annual  subscriber  of  $100,  shall  be  entitled  to  have 
one  person  constantly  in  the  wards,  on  his  or  her  recommen- 
dation. 

Each  person  subscribing  the  sum  of  $1000,  shall  be  deemed 
a  perpetual  contributor,  and  be  entitled,  in  addition  to  the 
privilege  last  mentioned,  to  designate  by  will,  or  in  other  legal 
manner,  to  whom  the  rights  of  contributorship  shall  descend. 

Every  person  contributing  by  will  or  donation  the  sum  of 
$10,000,  shall  be  entitled  to  confer  such  name  as  he  shall  ap- 
point upon  a  ward,  which  shall  ever  thereafter  bear  that  de- 
signation. 

Any  person  contributing  $30,000  or  more,  shall  be  entitled 
to  confer  such  a  name  as  he  shall  select  on  the  Hospital.  (The 
name  of  the  donor  would  be  preferred.)  In  case,  however, 
there  should  be  several  subscribers  of  the  sum  last  mentioned, 
the  name  of  the  Hospital  shall  be  given  to  the  largest  subscri- 
ber, the  names  of  the  others  to  be  given  to  the  largest  wards. 

This  Hospital  shall  provide  medical  advice,  medicine  and 
nursing  for  the  sick,  either  at  their  own  houses,  or  in  the  wards 
of  the  Hospital. 

Any  case  of  accidental  injury  shall  be  received  gratuitously, 
if  brought  to  the  Hospital  within  twenty-four  hours  of  the  time 
at  which  the  injury  was  received,  and  the  case  be  considered 
by  the  House  Surgeon  or  Physician,  sufficiently  severe  to  re- 
quire assistance.  And  all  sick  poor  persons  shall  be  admitted 
to  partake  of  the  benefits  of  the  Institution,  subject  to  the  de- 
cision of  the  physician  or  surgeon  in  attendance  and  the  Mana- 
gers who  shall  be  there  superintending  the  interests  of  the 
Institution. 

It  may  also  be  deemed  advisable  to  make  an  arrangement 
on  the  plan  of  a  Beneficial  Society,  by  which  the  payment  of  a 
trifling  sum  weekly  ivhilc  in  healthy  w^ld  yrocure  a  refuge  in  time 
of  sickness. 


21 

<w  J. 

The  following  plan  is  suggested  : — 

Every  person  contributing  per  week,  to  be  paid 

to  the  Steward  of  the  Institution,  shall  be  entitled  when  sick 
to  the  benefit  of  medical  advice  and  medicine,  either  at  their 
own  residence  or  in  the  wards  of  the  Hospital,  subject  to  the 
decision  of  the  physician  or  surgeon,  at  the  time  in  attendance, 
as  to  the  requirements  of  the  case.  Such  payments  shall 
cease  during  the  time  of  sickness  to  such  degree  as  to  incapa- 
citate for  labor,  of  which  fact  the  certificate  of  the  physician 
or  surgeon  in  attendance,  shall  be  the  only  evidence  required. 
Such  persons  shall  have  precedence  of  other  applicants  for 
admission  into  the  Hospital,  when  there  are  more  than  can  be 
received,  but  shall  have  the  same  treatment  and  care  as  other 
inmates.  There  shall  be  no  distinctions  in  favor  of  any  reli- 
gious denominations. 

Heads  of  families  might  thus  for  a  trifling  sum  secure  every 
comfort,  the  best  of  nursing,  and  medical  attendance  for  their 
domestics  when  sick. 

The  Trustees  have  appointed  the  following  gentlemen  a 
Committee  to  solicit  and  receive  subscriptions  : — 

HON.  LEWIS  H.  SANDFORD,  120  Tenth-street. 
REV.  DR.  CHEEVER,  21  East  Fifteenth-street. 
THOMAS  C.  DOREMUS,  ESQ.,  39  Nassau-street. 
LUTHER  R.  MARSH,  ESQ.,  15  East  Fifteenth-street. 
JOSEPH  STUART,  ESQ.,  36  Beach-street. 
DR.  B.  FORDYCE  BARKER,  16  West  Eleventh-street. 


